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| “What’s so wonderful about the Felician Sisters is that we are about the spiritual renewal of the world..” |
An invitation to touch the God within
Sr. Marilyn Marie Minter, campus minister-Immaculate Conception High School
Sister Marilyn Marie Minter finds it impossible to talk with people about whether they have a vocation until they have first developed a personal relationship with Jesus. She has also discovered great fulfillment in helping people develop that relationship.
“I realized so many people did not know Jesus Christ personally. As you listen to people’s stories and struggles and journeys and just invite them to touch that God life in them, you’re inviting them to see where God is in all this,” she says.
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“I find music can really draw young people,” she says. “It’s really been a powerful thing to me.”
When she plays her 12-string acoustic guitar and sings, her contemporary Christian style of playing busts stereotypes about religious life young people might hold. She sings “Awesome God” and “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” engaging the audience by leading them in hand motions to the song that allow them to let go of their self-consciousness.
Taking the message on the road
As the Felician Sisters searched for ways to raise awareness about their congregation in North America, Sister Marilyn developed a parish mission approach which takes members of the community into parishes for evening missions, school visits and home visits to cultivate the idea of vocations in married, single and religious life. The work combines two of her joys – evangelizing and traveling. “I am very passionate about walking with people and helping them to be in that personal relationship with Jesus,” she says.
“What’s so wonderful about the Felician Sisters is that we are about the spiritual renewal of the world.
Our charism is an awesome charism because it speaks of us truly imitating the boundless love of God and surrendering to God’s will in compassionate service to all people, to be available in all situations and to be concerned with salvation of all people.”
The excitement and challenge of that work keep Sister Marilyn going, as does her personal relationship with Jesus. Daily, she centers her life in God’s word and in the Eucharist. The discipline to do these things, she says, “keeps this flame going.”
As she has traveled, Sister Marilyn has observed a number of things about young people today. “In so many of these places there isn’t that fellowship that young people are looking for, that Christ-centered fellowship. I think people need that place where they can share their faith,” she says.
She has seen evidence of this in the way her e-mail correspondence has increased enormously during the past three years. People she has met share stories as well as ask her for prayers.
“I believe that young people want to be radical. They want to do something that really makes a difference. And they want to see people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. I wish there were more people who would stand together and be that powerful presence,” she says.
